Americans United - teaguehttps://www.au.org/tags/teague
enAttack Of The 'Commandments Warriors': Teague League Seeks To Scale Church-State Wall In Tennessee https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/attack-of-the-commandments-warriors-teague-league-seeks-to-scale-church
<a href="/users/stern">Ilana Stern</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Teague and the &quot;Ten Commandments Warriors,&quot; as his supporters call themselves, celebrated the unveiling with a prayer walk and a gathering on the lawn of the courthouse.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p class="MsoNormal">Just about six months ago, my colleague <a href="../2009/02/23/walk-to-nowhere-tenn-man-off-track-with-ten-commandments-trek/">Sandhya Bathija posted</a> about one man's trek from Mountain City, Tenn., to the nation's capital. Walking through the rain and snow with the hopes of convincing national lawmakers to "keep the Ten Commandments in our public buildings<a href="http://www.mgwashington.com/index.php/news/article/tennessee-man-walks-to-d.c.-for-ten-commandments/2621/">," Scott Teague arrived in Washington, D.C.</a>, on March 4. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teague, a funeral director and former Marine, was furious that the Johnson County Commission, in response to a <a href="http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/09/10c.pdf">letter from Americans United</a>, had ordered a display of the Ten Commandments removed from its place in the local courthouse, where it had been hanging alone between the offices of the mayor and the county clerk. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teague told the media the Commandments are the "historical foundation of American law" and must be adopted by all nations to avoid becoming a "heathen world." He said America is suffering "moral decay and economic crisis" because we aren't honoring the Commandments. He wants to rally "righteous people" on behalf of the Decalogue so we don't get slammed by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sixteen days after leaving his home, Teague stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. The whole thing was rather anti-climactic as he joined a few supporters in prayer via a radio interview, prior to a couple of quick meetings with legislators and a flight back to his home. A few days later, the local media coverage had died down, and we had hoped that his little publicity stunt was through.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, it seems as if Teague was winding down from one battle to wage a larger war.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teague, through his position on the local Rotary Club board, amassed funding to design a new Commandments display that would be in compliance with the County Commission new policy. Deeming the courthouse a limited public forum, the commission decided to permit any display brought forth by a resident of Johnson County that has historical relevance to the county, state or country.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Aug. 22, <a href="http://www.thetomahawk.com/Detail.php?Cat=HOMEPAGE&amp;ID=58182">the display was unveiled</a>. It consisted of the original Ten Commandments plaque, and accompanying plaques with the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Articles of the Constitution and a quote from the Supreme Court case <a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&amp;vol=465&amp;invol=668"><em>Lynch v. Donnelly</em></a> about the Constitution not mandating a "complete separation of church and state," was hung on the courthouse wall.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teague and the "Ten Commandments Warriors," as his supporters call themselves, celebrated the unveiling with a prayer walk and a gathering on the lawn of the courthouse where local leaders spoke about, you guessed it, God. Mountain City local officials even went as far as to declare every fourth Saturday in August "Ten Commandments Day."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Teague's Web site extols his vision of inspiring "God fearing Americans to reclaim their beliefs of Almighty God." However, certainly not all of the residents of Johnson County are so moved.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ralph Stewart, the complainant about the original courthouse display, worries that "the sham tactic of declaring a Free Speech area in a courthouse will lead to more Ten Commandment signs in other government buildings." While Stewart is considering <a href="http://www.rationalists.org/pubs/newsletters/jan09.htm">sponsoring a display</a> with a message that the "U.S. is not a Christian Nation," the process may not be so easy, and the backlash may be worse.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stewart is already something of a social pariah in his community. The road to Stewart's house is festooned with 23 posters of the Ten Commandments, and his neighbor hauled an old school bus to Stewart's property line that now mars his view. Teague has even challenged Stewart's volunteer work on the local Humane Society board, indicating that his presence is "a black cloud over" the group.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While it seems that Teague and his warriors revert to scare tactics, we will keep a watchful eye on Mountain City, Tenn. Americans United attorneys are monitoring the situation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not that I'm much of an interior decorator (much to the dismay of my roommates, there are purple polka dots on my living room walls), but I think that the eloquent words of the framers, which have withstood the test of time through the endurance of our Constitution, are more appropriate adornment for the walls of the Johnson County Courthouse. </p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-mottos-pledges-and-resolutions">Religious Mottos, Pledges and Resolutions</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religion-and-politics">Religion and politics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/teague">teague</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ten-commandaments">ten commandaments</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tennassee">tennassee</a></span></div></div>Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:56:59 +0000Ilana Stern2248 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/attack-of-the-commandments-warriors-teague-league-seeks-to-scale-church#comments